Maxim's maxim

Nero's eyes surveyed the card, even though he knew it entirely by heart. The back of the card, even though it wasn't visible since the card was safely placed inside the grimoire, was a bright yellow filled with countless tiny designs around a massive 'M' in the centre of it. Similarly, the border of the card was yellow, which made it very bright and prominent. The image was of a withered looking man drinking a cup of coffee. It was a 0 star card, although there were higher star versions of it available.

It's ability was also simple and straightforward.

[Mildly rejuvenate the body from exhaustion, and eliminate the need for sleep for a few hours!]

At the bottom there was a quote from Maxim himself, or as he put it, Maxim's maxim.

"Rise from the grip of sleep, for the night is still young," Maxim Dawnlight.

Nero was pretty sure that Maxim gave himself that last name, but what did it matter? The card, which was clearly not meant for necromancy as the name initially suggested, was extremely useful in a myriad of circumstances, and was a result of Maxim's innate ability, which was passive rejuvenation. Everyone knew that real necromancy was the domain of a Monarch, and attempts to replicate it resulted in a pale imitation at best.

The ostentatious man had a knack for naming cards oddly, and there were many theories as to why he did so. Nero himself personally believed that it was an ingenious marketing tactic, and by having people theorise why he named his cards so oddly, had already achieved his goal. While others looked down on him for being so eccentric, Nero sought to learn from the man's brilliant mindset. He turned what everyone perceived as an oddity, his personality, and made use of it to gain massive success. Naturally, the prerequisite was that his cards were good enough to begin with.

"How much for Raise the dead?" Nero asked, contemplating a purchase. It could be useful for late night study sessions, and in emergency situations where he had to wade away fatigue.

"20 Krims for this 0 star card, but that's before the discount. The more cards you buy, the greater your discount will be," the shopkeeper answered dutifully.

Nero nodded, and continued to peruse the grimoire. Many of the cards he already knew by heart, but some of them were newer entries, or just weren't popular enough to have attracted his attention earlier. Now, however, he studied each card with his utmost attention. A few of them even caught his attention, though it was difficult to ignore how silly they sounded.

Name: Ultimate grip

Image: A man with massive forearms

Type: Physical force

Star rank: 0

Ability: [Attach something to your body or clothing so that it doesn't fall off. Lasts for 10 minutes or until pulled hard enough.]

Flavour text: "Pockets are for the weak."

Name: Masked odour

Image: A wind blowing away the smell from a block of cheese.

Type: Stealth

Star rank: 0

Ability: [Cover the smell of your body with that of a nearby target. Lasts for 10 minutes.]

Flavour text: "Showers are for the weak."

Name: This is us

Image: Three identical people pointing at each other.

Type: Illusion

Star rank: 0

Ability: [Create illusory duplicates of yourself for 10 minutes.]

Flavour text: "Being alone is for the weak."

Name: FAK (First Aid Kit)

Image: A doctor doing stitches on a patient in a forest.

Type: Healing

Star rank: 0

Ability: [Stop external bleeding from small to medium wounds for 10 minutes.]

Flavour text: "Bleeding is for the weak."

These were the cards Nero could see himself using, though there were countless others which had effects just as strange as their names. There were, of course, some cards which had normal names, images and flavour texts. But a single glance was enough to tell that they were a result of one of the hired artisans from Maxim, and weren't nearly as good as his personal works.

Although there were countless card artisans out there, creating a useful recipe was not something everyone could achieve. Moreover, even the army could not force private artisans to hand over their own original recipes, because that was an ingenious way to drive away anyone remotely talented away, and stop innovation.

But while recipes were not everyone's forte, an artisan with a useful innate ability could make a fortune just off of that. Nero saw one such card, and immediately decided to buy it as well.

Name: Enhanced Learning

Image: A person arduously studying.

Star rank: 0

Ability: [For a brief period enhance the user's brain, making studying temporarily easier. Can only be used once every 30 hours.]

Flavour text: "The light of civilization has been lit, and it is ours to make it brighter" - Norton Fleming

The name of the card artisan wasn't mentioned and Nero highly doubted it was Norton Fleming, for that was a famous artisan from New Velariya. Even if he were selling his cards here in Kolar, for whatever reason, they would be in the capital, not Aetherpeak. But even then, if they were in Aetherpeak, they would seriously unlikely be 0 star cards.

Nevertheless, Nero bought these five cards, paying a total of 67 Krims, which was a pretty good deal for 5 0-star cards. Although 0-star rank cards were cheap, and many common ones were given out free at schools, they were only cheap relative to higher star rank cards. Each and every card was a product of numerous materials and abilities, and that was not even counting the service charges of the artisan themselves.

The shop probably made little to no profit on this sale, but now Nero got a membership card from the shop after the purchase, which would encourage him to come back to the shop more often.

Adding the five cards to his deck, Nero left the shop and walked over to a vending machine. He really should go to a proper store, but it wasn't as if the knives here would be bad just because they were mass produced. They would just be worse than the store bought ones. It was temporary anyway.

He spent another 250 Krims to buy the best knife available in the vending machine. Its blade was 15 cm (5.5 inches) and had serrations as well as a fake leather grip. It came with a strap he could tie on his thigh, which he did immediately. He was not used to being without a weapon. Then Nero went to an electronics store and bought himself a decent phone for 100 Krims.

Of the money his father had given him Nero had 83 Krims left, which was technically a lot. On top of that, Nero had his own lifetime savings of 800 Krims, giving him a grand total of 883! He was a wealthy man!

Unfortunately, he knew well enough how quickly his funds would dwindle now that he was a Neophyte! In fact, depending on how busy his schedule would be from now on, Nero might consider getting a part time job.

He immediately turned on the phone and linked it to his personal ID number which he was assigned at birth. The number also served as his phone number, as well as his login for various other services. Soon, his phone started buzzing with all the messages he had missed.

He glanced over them once, making sure that none of them were urgent, before putting his phone in his pocket and hopping on his cycle. It was 6:43 pm by now, which meant that the sky was completely dark!

Both of Neire's moons were probably out, though the Dark moon was never visible at night and the heavy clouds which had just rolled in blocked any chance of viewing the White moon.

Fortunately, Aetherpeak was brightly lit by countless street lights, not to mention that his rented cycle was equipped with lights as well.

But it was not the darkness itself that concerned Nero - it was the dangers that usually came with it!

Instead of the streets becoming emptier, they had in fact become more crowded. Police and military patrols roamed every street, ensuring that there were no incidents. The city was, generally, very safe. If that weren't the case then the shops would not be allowed to remain open so late.

But the chances of a cursed event increased exponentially in the dark, which was another reason the city was so well lit.

Given all the precautions, Nero had no reason to be concerned. But the day had already given him many surprises, and he did not want to risk any more.

Speaking of darkness, he wondered if he still had that Darkness card in his deck. He would make sure to check when he got the chance.

As he rode up and down the rolling streets of Aetherpeak, he kept his eyes peeled for any signs of something amiss. The brief periods where he would cross a section with no pedestrians or patrols nearby, Nero remained extra vigilant.

The cold crisp air, the bright white lights, the buzzing flies and moths around every street light all mixed to create a mood that was not exactly ominous, but was unnerving nonetheless.

Nero was not usually jittery, as he had been brave even when he was young, but on this ride to school he kept feeling invisible eyes staring at his back. A couple of times he turned around to check behind him, but no matter how he turned, the stare remained directly behind him.

The wind blew, and it almost sounded like a whisper in his ear, warning him of impending danger. A pensive expression painted his face as he wondered if he were suffering from some kind of mental trauma from the events of earlier that day.

A sudden chill crept up to him and Nero made a drastic turn, his right hand reaching for his knife. But there was nothing. No one had approached him, and no attack had fallen. But instead of thinking himself crazy, Nero maintained his highest vigilant state as he cycled at full speed towards the nearest patrol.

Even the three soldiers, who were walking in formation, noticed his approach and immediately drew their weapons.

As absurd as the situation was, he would rather get embarrassed and learn that he was imagining things rather than take a risk with a cursed event!

He braked only at the last moment, and turned the cycle sideways so that it skidded to a stop.

"I feel a strange presence around me, but I can't tell where it is," Nero said directly, skipping over the niceties of self introduction. "My body feels cold even though my innate ability makes me resistant to it."

The lead soldier placed his hands on Nero's body and yanked him off the cycle and held him in a vice grip.

"Before we do anything, drop the knife," he said. Who could blame him? The moment he laid hands on Nero, Nero raised the knife to his neck!